France has named Isabelle Dumont as its first female ambassador to Türkiye on Monday.
Dumont, fluent in Turkish, served at the French Embassy in the capital Ankara from 2011 to 2013.
She was also ambassador to Ukraine and the Greek Cypriot administration in 2015 and 2019, respectively.
Following these assignments, she became an adviser for European and Turkish relations at the Elysee Palace in 2020.
She provided counsel to French President Emmanuel Macron on European and Turkish relations.
Her new role is likely to have a positive impact on Türkiye-France relations.
She is expected to be in Türkiye this week and will assume her duties after presenting her letter of credentials to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Her predecessor Herve Magro had positive remarks about the current status of Turkish-French ties, which he said were “robust despite occasional problems.”
The ambassador was summoned to the Turkish Foreign Ministry several times during his tenure, including over Türkiye’s concerns over anti-Turkish propaganda by the terrorist group PKK in France, and the French Senate presenting medals to terrorist members of the PKK’s Syrian wing, the YPG. France itself recalled him for consultations after Türkiye’s criticism of Islamophobia in France in 2020.
Ankara has repeatedly traded barbs with Paris over its policies on Syria, Libya, the Eastern Mediterranean, Karabakh and other issues, as well.
The pair have been on opposing sides in Libya where Ankara backs the U.N.-recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) in Tripoli against a 2019 offensive by putschist Gen. Khalifa Haftar. France is suspected of supporting Haftar, but officially insists it is neutral in the conflict.
Turkish officials have also decried France's interference in the Eastern Mediterranean dispute with Greece, given it has no territory in the region. Paris sent naval assets to support Greek warships shadowing Turkish ones in disputed waters.
Despite it all, relations remained somewhat stable. Erdoğan and French President Emmanuel Macron have been at odds in their speeches critical of each other, notably Erdoğan of Macron’s Islamophobic remarks, but most of their meetings and accompanying photo opportunities have been warm and sincere occasions as per media reports.
Türkiye and France will mark the 500th anniversary of bilateral relations in two years. Since the first French envoy arrived in Istanbul, then the capital of the Ottoman Empire, French culture has been a dominant force in Türkiye, especially in the latter times of the empire, while the Turkish language has many words and phrases borrowed from French.
The two countries’ bilateral trade volume reached $19 billion in 2022. The pair also cooperate in the fight against climate change and in technology.
France was also among the many countries to offer condolences and contributions to reconstruction efforts in southeastern Turkish provinces devastated by two deadly earthquakes on Feb. 6.
